Help with Weight of Truck Camper
Hello fellow campers! I have a question that I would like opinions on - I am sure this tossed around a lot… I have a 2005 Dodge 2500 with the 5.7L Hemi Head. Great running truck! Since then, I...
Forum Discussion
Your rear axle rating will be the maximum on your tires at full rated pressure. Check your tires, and see what they are rated for first.
Campers have different centers of gravity, and a shorter camper will sometimes have a center of gravity ahead of the rear axle. This transfers some of the weight forward onto the front wheels. In your case, your wheelbase is 140 inches, so if you can find a camper with a center of gravity 14 inches ahead of the rear axle, 10% of that weight goes on the front wheels.
But the real problem is the boat. A 4000 pound boat would have a tongue weight to deal with. If we say 15% and lets just say that the pin is 1/3 of the wheelbase behind the real axle, then 4/3 of 600 pounds goes on the back axle, and 1/3 of that 600 pounds comes off the front. So the actual effect on the back axle is now 800 pounds from the boat. Even if your tongue weight is 400 pounds (the minimum for a 4000 pound boat) then you still add 533 pounds to the rear axle.
Campers have different centers of gravity, and a shorter camper will sometimes have a center of gravity ahead of the rear axle. This transfers some of the weight forward onto the front wheels. In your case, your wheelbase is 140 inches, so if you can find a camper with a center of gravity 14 inches ahead of the rear axle, 10% of that weight goes on the front wheels.
But the real problem is the boat. A 4000 pound boat would have a tongue weight to deal with. If we say 15% and lets just say that the pin is 1/3 of the wheelbase behind the real axle, then 4/3 of 600 pounds goes on the back axle, and 1/3 of that 600 pounds comes off the front. So the actual effect on the back axle is now 800 pounds from the boat. Even if your tongue weight is 400 pounds (the minimum for a 4000 pound boat) then you still add 533 pounds to the rear axle.
